Diapers



Sept. 22, 1959 DAVIDSQN 2,905,176

DIAPERS Filed Feb. 1, 1956 Tag. 1

INVENTOR.

HAROLD F. DAVIDSON BY HM MW ATTORNEYS United States Patent DIAPERS Harold F. Davidson, Falls Church, Va., assignor to Alamac Knitting Mills, Inc., New York, N.Y.

Application February 1, 1956, Serial No. 562,760

2 Claims. (Cl. 128-4284) This invention relates to diapers. More particularly, it is directed to improvementes in diapers so that when exposed to moisture they can dry very quickly in contact with the skin.

Accordingly, it is among the principal objects of this invention to provide a diaper so constructed that the side thereof in contact with the body not only does not absorb moisture, but also allows the water to pass therethrough so that it is absorbed by a fabric forming the outer side of the diaper.

The foregoing principal objects may be attained by providing a diaper constructed from two layers of different fabrics, suitably joined at the edges thereof, each of the fabrics having the opposite characteristics broadly mentioned above.

More particularly, the objects and advantages of this invention are achieved by providing a diaper formed of a body-contacting member and a backing member wherein the body-contacting member is an open, porous mesh fabric made from yarns of requisite softness and hand so that little moisture remains on the surface of the interstices. It is characterized by the feature that the fabric allows the moisture readily to pass therethrough in one direction but does not permit it to migrate back, whereby the body contacting side thereof is insulated from the moisture laden backing member. The fabric selected for the body-contacting member should pass a maximum of moisture through to the backing member and retain a minimum of the moisture in the interstices. The yarn from which the body-contacting member is made should be of essentially hydrophobic character. Suitable for such purposes are nylon, Dacron, coated cotton, Orlon, cellulose acetate, etc. These fibers are therefore natural or synthetic which provide the requisite extent of hydrophobic characteristics. The backing member, on the contrary, should be markedly water-absorptive or hydrophilic. Such characteristics are provided, for example, by suitable cotton fabrics such as are customarily used for diapers.

The aforesaid objects and advantages, as well as further objects and advantages, will become more ap parent from the following description of the invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a diaper made in accordance with this invention; and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary cross-section of a diaper section of Fig. 1 taken on the lines 2--2 thereof.

In the figures, the numeral 10 designates the diaper. Fabrics 12 and 14, respectively, are the body-contacting member and backing member, that are joined as by stitching 16 or other suitable means. Fabric 12 is suitably a piece of knitted nylon made from 36 two-ply spun nylon yarn. The knitting is done on a Wildman latch needle rib machine, the diameter of the machine being 18 inches. The machine is provided with 12 needles to the inch and the fabric is knitted 26 stitches per inch. To insure evenness of the fabric and uniformity of the stitch, a Kibbe tensiometer is installed on each side of the machine. The tensiometer automatically compensates for any tension in the cone of the yarn thereby assuring a proper knitting. For further assurance of uniformity of knitting, it is advisable to carry out the operation in a conditioned room at 65 percent relative humidity and at a temperature of F. The conditioning prevents static charges from accumulating on the fiber thereby eliminating friction thereof against the needles of the machine and thus eliminating possibilities of unevenness in the knitting.

After the knitting operation, the fabric is processed by passing it over a spreader set at 21 inches. The spreader employs a self-contained conveyor belt to overfeed the fabric thereby eliminating any tension lengthwise thereof. During this operation, while passing over the spreader, the fabric is subjected to high pressure steam under high velocity so as to effectuate complete relaxation of the fabric; elimination of any further residual shrinkage; and to change the construction of the fabric to that of one produced by a knitting of 20 needles per inch and 34 stitches per inch in the finished fabric. The processed fabric is thus characterized by washability, high elasticity and quick drying.

The backing member 14 is a piece of cotton cloth customarily used for diapers. It may be formed of any suitable highly absorbent material.

It will thus be seen that the diaper of this invention is a two-ply structure. The layer constituting the bodycontacting member is of essentially mesh-like construction that affords porosity requisite to insure passage therethrough of water. Maximum transmission of the water with a minimum retention thereof in the interstices is provided by fabrics of varying mesh counts that afford requisite porosity which may readily be ascertained by simple testing. The backing member should be a material or fabric that absorbs and retains the water that passes through the body-contacting member.

It will be understood that the foregoing description of the invention and the embodiment set forth is merely illustrative of the principles thereof. In accordance thereto, the appended claims are to be construed as defining the invention within the full spirit and scope thereof.

I claim:

1. A diaper comprising, in combination, a first bodycontacting knitted mesh layer of hydrophobic material, a second backing layer of hydrophilic material at one side of said hydrophobic material, the thickness of said mesh layer being uniformly equal to the thickness of said backing layer, both of said layers being of substantially the same size and shape and coextensive with each other, and means securing the peripheral edge of said first layer to said second layer, said knitted hydrophobic material facilitating the passage of liquid therethrough from one outer side to the opposite inner side thereof into association with said hydrophilic material, said hydrophobic material isolating moisture suspended in said layer of hydrophilic material from said outer side of said hydrophobic material, whereby the body contacting outer side of said hydrophobic material may be insulated from a moisture laden second layer of hydrophilic material.

2. A diaper as set forth in claim 1, wherein said first body-containing layer comprises nylon fabric knitted twenty needles per inch and thirty-four stitches per inch, and said second backing layer is constructed of woven cotton fabric.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,468,445 Hurst Apr. 26, 1949 2,649,859 Hermanson Aug. 25, 1953 2,695,025 Andrews Nov. 23, 1954 2,718,888 Meroney Sept. 27, 1955 

